In the game of racquetball, a ball is struck by a racquet inside an enclosed court and caused to travel at speeds anywhere between 60 and 100 mph and at times even faster. One of the enclosing walls is designated the "front wall", and in the game, the players alternate striking the ball so that it contacts this wall prior to contacting the floor. Often, a player winds up in a position on the court between the front wall and his opponent who is preparing to strike the ball. In this position, the player is vulnerable to being struck by the ball, which produces injuries such as ball burns, deep cuts, broken ribs and even kidney injuries. In order to reduce the hazard, many players work out running patterns and angles on the court. However, this reduces a player's ability to attack the ball in a totally aggressive manner and sometimes can result in a player not being in the best position to make a return. Therefore, there is a need to protect a racquetball player against ball impact so that the player can be totally aggressive.
A player struck by the ball not only undergoes pain due to the type of injuries described above, but also may undergo a breakdown in concentration that subsequently interferes with aggressiveness. Thus, by protecting a player against ball impact, player performance will improve and new excitement will be added to the sport.
In racquetball, the ball can be caused to strike the ceiling or sidewalls and thus travels in all directions, making the whole body a target. However, a player must have free, unrestricted movement and must be comfortable, temperaturewise.
Protective suits that completely cover the upper and lower portions of the body are known. Exemplary suits of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,005,569 to DeMeir, U.S. Pat. No. 2,664,566 to Mianulli, U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,852 to Crane, U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,752 to Fackelmann. Certain of these suits also protect the head and/or feet.
It is also known to protect only portions of the body, with this type of prior art being illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 1,478,626 to Wares, U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,489 to Weiss, U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,159 to Alarco, U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,171 to Mitchell, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,844 to Atack et al. In the Wares patent, only a portion of the back side is protected.
This prior art and the other prior art of which I am aware does not provide an impact-protective suit that enables a racquetball player to play aggressively, that gives the player free, unrestricted movement and that permits ready venting of body heat.